California Wildfires Increases Misery for Growers
August 26, 2020 California growers are having an unusually difficult season. First, COVID-19 disrupted not only sales, but also necessitated costly worker safety guidelines. Then soaring heat exceeded norms. The San Joaquin growing region isn’t too far from Death Valley, which famously reached 130˚F. Even moderate Santa Cruz hit 107˚F this month.
Unfortunately, that dry heat ushered in explosive wildfires. On the whole, the fires have not invaded growing fields. However, several growing areas lie close to the fires.
The outbreaks forced some farmworkers to evacuate. But those who haven’t are still struggling with ash, high heat, and heavy smoke. To protect their workers, many growers are shortening work hours.
In 2019, California issued a new regulation protecting workers from wildfire smoke. The new rules include training workers to identify health effects from wildfire smoke exposure — and how to use respirators when smoke levels are high.
University of California, Davis’ Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety provides downloads of the guidelines in both English and Spanish.
The River fire in the Salinas Valley burned along miles of vegetable growing fields.
Smoke’s Impact on Crops
There are several ways smoke negatively affects crops.
- With less sunlight reaching crops, crops develop more slowly.
- Less sunlight can lead to higher disease loads. Obviously, when ash coats leaves and fruit, crops have even less access to light.
- Protecting workers delays harvest, leading to destroying overly ripe crops.
- Some crops absorb enough smoke to change the flavor. During the 2018 fire season, several vineyards were unable to sell their grapes.
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